London Irish regrets to announce that its former Chairman, David Fitzgerald, passed away yesterday after a battle with cancer.

David was an instrumental member of the Club over four decades. He Captained London Irish for two seasons in the pre-professional era. When his playing career ended, David became involved in coaching, developing an Under 6 group of boys into what is now the strongest Under 16 squad in the country. The team has been crowned Surrey Champions in all but one season since Under 9, and this season, London Irish was the first Club ever to have two Under 16 teams in the top two Surrey Divisions. David was also heavily involved in the administrative side of the Club, serving as Chairman of the very successful annual Mini Rugby Festival for a number of years before becoming Chairman of LIARFC from 2009 to 2015.